Warren Mitofsky facts for kids

Warren J. Mitofsky (born September 17, 1934 – died September 1, 2006) was an important American expert in political polls. He helped news organizations understand what people thought about elections.

Mitofsky graduated from Guilford College in 1957. From 1967 to 1990, he was a top leader at the CBS News election and survey team. He also helped produce CBS's election night TV shows.

Before working at CBS, Mitofsky was at the United States Census Bureau. There, he designed many surveys. With another expert named Joseph Waksberg, he created a smart way to call people for surveys. This method used random digit dialing to pick phone numbers. It became a very popular way to do surveys. In 1999, the American Association for Public Opinion Research gave him a special award. It was for his lifelong dedication to making surveys good quality.

Mitofsky is also famous for inventing the exit poll. This is when voters are asked how they voted right after they leave the polling place.

Warren Mitofsky is listed as one of the notable former employees of the United States Census Bureau. In 1989, he was chosen as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. This is a high honor for statisticians.

In November 2004, Mitofsky was interviewed by PBS NewsHour. They talked about why his exit polls for the 2004 U.S. presidential election seemed wrong. Early poll results showed John Kerry winning, but George W. Bush actually won. Mitofsky thought the difference happened because "the Kerry voters were more eager to take part in our exit polls than the Bush voters." This means people who voted for Kerry were more likely to stop and answer questions.

Warren Mitofsky passed away on September 1, 2006, in New York City. He was 71 years old and died from an aortic aneurysm.

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research gives an award each year in his name. It's called the Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research.

Mitofsky International: Polling Around the World

In 1993, Mitofsky started his own company called Mitofsky International. This company specializes in survey research. Its main job is to conduct exit polls for big elections all over the world. They work only for news organizations.

Mitofsky led exit polls and quick vote counts for nearly 3,000 elections since 1967. He was the first to conduct national presidential exit polls in the United States, Russia, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Mitofsky International, along with another company called CESSI, Ltd., conducted the only exit polls for the Russian presidential elections in 1996 and 2000. They also did all other Russian elections since 1993. For Mexico's 1994 presidential election, Mitofsky International was the only company providing exit polling and quick counts for Mexican TV and radio.